Asphalt Prices Drop; Concrete Looks for Long-Term Role

摘要

Both asphalt and concrete advocates expect increases in paving activity overall, and both note that asphalt prices haven't gone down in conjunction with oil prices as quickly as in the past. While asphalt will continue its paving prevalence, proponents of concrete contend that life-cycle costs and tight budgets may contribute to an increasing competitiveness with asphalt. "Oil prices have been going down, and liquid-asphalt prices have finally gone downward," says Jay Hansen, executive vice president at the National Asphalt Pavement Association. "Demand for asphalt paving is expected to continue to go up 5% in 2015 on the strength of private commercial [and] residential markets, mainly, and in states that approved user-fee increases for their programs."